Shadows of War
by gwb99
Summary: As the Empire encroaches on UNSC space a secret task force of UNSC ships is sent to cause chaos in anyway possible, which for a small team of SPARTAN III's is second nature. But other darker forces are at work in the shadows. (Sequel to Fires Of War)
1. Chapter 1: Angels and demons

**Surprise everyone! I'm back early. Or more importantly my story(s) is/are back early! :)**

**WARNING! If you haven't read my first story Fires of War you will not understand anything. Please if you haven't already read it. **

**Now I'm just going to say I worked on this unrestricted by anything since August 2 so I've had time to make this chapter the best it can be. Please note that this will not be the case for the rest of the chapters as I have school from September to June so I don't have as much time as I would prefer.**

**Halo belongs to 343 industries (Bungie forever) and Star Wars belongs to Disney **

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**Timeline: (Based on UNSC times and dates. Imperial records are in separate bullets.) **

**2511: SPARTAN II candidates are born.**

**2516: Anakin Skywalker is born.**

**2517: Doctor Catherine Halsey and then Lieutenant Jacob Keyes inspect SPARTAN II candidate 117. SPARTAN II's are kidnapped by ONI agents and replaced with flash clones.**

**2517-2525: Operation TREBUCHET takes place with the intent of quelling the growing insurrection. SPARTAN II training.**

**2525: Contact with outer colony of Harvest is lost. First contact and first engagements with Covenant Empire takes place.**

**2526: SPARTAN Blue Team is sent to the Corbulo Academy of Military Science to Evac cadets training there.**

**2531: Kurt SPARTAN 051 is secretly taken by ONI Section III to begin new SPARTAN program. SPARTAN III Alpha company begins training.**

**2531-2537: Alpha company training. Operation PROMETHUS takes place. Alpha company killed to the last man but completes its objective. SPARTAN III Beta company training begins.**

**2537-2545: SPARTAN III Beta company training. Oparation TORPEDO takes place. Beta company suffers near annihilation but completes its objective. SPARTAN III Gamma company begins training.**

**2545: Silva Aventios is born.**

**2545-2552: Inner colonies are targeted. Gamma company training and deployment.**

**August-December 2552: Fall of reach occurs. SPARTAN II's almost completely annihilated. Events of Alpha Halo take place. Battle of Earth. Events of Delta Halo take place. Prophet of Truth is killed by Thel Vadam on the Ark. Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 MIA. Human-Covenant war ends. **

**2554: Clone Wars begin. UNSC Outer-most colonies are re-terraformed.**

**2554-2556: Clone Wars take place.**

**2556: Order 66 takes place. Beginning of Jedi Purge.**

**June 19-28 2557: Events of _Fires Of_ _War_ take place. Task force Shadow is authorized and given green light.**

**June 29 2557: current time.**

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_"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life..._

_...It goes on"_

**ROBERT FROST**

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_"They died hard, those wonderful men. Fighting till their last. They were foolish, they were arrogant and they were brash, and I loved them."_

**Imperial Captain Hal Trume, on the subject of the sailors under his command.**

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**UNSC colony of Gryphon, capital city of Vance 24:00 hrs, April 14 2545/UNSC Military Calendar/Local Time**

It was a peaceful night as always. Some Snow still littered the ground and the city was for the most part asleep. That all changed when the sirens started. These weren't police sirens or fire trucks or ambulances, no these were sirens no one wanted to hear.

Air Raid sirens.

The four year old girl sleeping in the rose coloured room in the two story house on the outskirts of the capital heard the sirens and woke up, wanting to tell her mommy and daddy and older brother about them. So she got out of her bed and cautiously made her way toward her parents room. She looked at the pictures on the wall and at the light she wished she could turn on but she wasn't tall enough to reach it. There were pictures of her and her brother as babies, of them at the beach, in the pool and at the park, playing with friends and with their parents. Happy.

When she got to her parents room and opened the door she ran to their bed, tapping her mother on the shoulder.

"Sophie? What are you doing up, it's late." Her mother said, not even turning around to face her daughter.

"Mommy, mommy do you hear the sound mommy? What is it?" Sophie asked, tapping her moms shoulder again.

"Sirens, dear. Most likely a drill by the Army again. Come on let's go get you back to bed." She wordlessly got out of bed and guided her daughter out of her room and into the hall.

They were at the window adjacent to the bathroom when they heard the explosions.

The mother and girl stopped in their tracks and turned to stare at the window. The city was burning. More explosions were heard and were then joined with the sound of Anti-Aircraft fire, the yellow rounds shot off into the night sky, trying to kill the unseen assailants.

"Jonathan! Jonathan get up! They're here!" The mother screamed as a man in his late forties ran out of the parents room, a teenage boy ran out of the room adjacent.

"Are you two okay? Sophie come here sweetie. It's alright, it's okay..." The father, Jonathan said as he tried in vain to console his now crying daughter.

"The Covenant are here? Cool!" Exclaimed the boy.

"Bradley!" Yelled the mother, turning to face her son.

"Sorry mom." The boy, Bradley said.

"We have to get to the spaceport, the Army and Marines will be there and we can escape." Jonathan said, picking up Sophie.

"We have to change or atleast get something's packed-" the mother started to say.

"No, there's no time, look outside Margaret!" Jonathan yelled.

The four of them quickly made their way downstairs and were about to exit the house when the Phantoms appeared.

The two transports hovered ten meters off the ground to deploy their ground troops. These were mostly elites with two Jackal snipers as support. The aliens killed those that were on the street. Fortunately no people in the houses were killed, yet. This included the family of four, who upon seeing the gunships ran back inside.

The family Huddled in their living room. Three elites came through the door, their light blue armour signifying them as just minors. One of them when't upstairs while two stayed on the ground floor, searching for humans to kill. The family tried to hide as best they could but with Sophie crying it was inevitable that the elites found them.

Bradley, filled with a stupid and misplaced sense of heroism attempted to rush the first elite and got close enough to wrap his arms around its stomach. The elite picked Bradley up with one arm, holding him by the neck as the rest of the family watched the elite place it's plasma rifle to his head and fire.

The plasma burned his head clean off his body, decapitating him. The elite threw him to the side and moved in to kill the rest of the family. It shot Jonathan in the ribcage and the neck, killing him. Margaret (the mother) attempted to shield Sophie from the alien but was swatted aside and stabbed by the second elite with an energy dagger.

The third elite came back downstairs and was about to shoot Sophie when the wall behind them blew up. The elites turned to face the destroyed wall, thinking that the humans armed forces had appeared. In reality their Phantom gunship had mistook the sound of plasma fire as an indication the Covenant soldiers were in trouble. Upon seeing that no harm had befallen them the ship moved off to kill some helpless humans.

The first elite was about to go in for the kill when it paused mid-step and felt it's back before dropping dead, a knife had cut into the elites spine, killing it. The other two elites forgot about the crying four year old and began to search for their assailant. The second elite suddenly jerked its head back. A figure de-cloaked on the elites back wearing green-grey armour with a gold polarized visor. The visor was rather large covering the whole front of the helmet while the armour itself was slim and had almost no outside armour plates.

The figure slit the elites throat before jumping off the elite and narrowly missing an energy dagger meant for its head. It turned toward the last elite and ducked, avoiding another swipe from the elites dagger. It then kicked the elite in the knee before bringing its knife toward the elites head getting it straight in the mouth. Blue blood gushed out of the wound and covered the figure as it twisted the knife before yanking it out and quickly cleaning it before sheathing it.

The figure turned toward the headless corpse of Bradley then the burned corpses of Sophie's parents before turning toward Sophie and slowly swiping two fingers over its visor where its mouth would be before cloaking and disappearing again.

Five minutes later when a squad of Marines found a shell shocked Sophie and asked what killed the elite all she said was an angel.

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**UNSC Frigate _For The Fallen _21:00 hrs, June 29 2557/UNSC Military Calendar/Ship Standard Time **

I woke up sweating and breathing heavy which was normal for me. Even so Julianne asked if I was alright which I replied in the affirmative.

The briefing I had attended three hours earlier had been more or less a 'meet and greet' where the officers for ground teams would meet each other so they had a closer bond and were more trusting of each other when they were deployed. As SPARTAN teams were small everyone in Rapier had been in attendance.

There was the hulking form of Major doese. The Helljumpers CO Aswell as captain Philips, his aide.

There was the quiet and cautious Captain Jennings, the woman's unit of Rangers we would work the most with. Also in attendance was her Radio-man Specialist Frost.

There was Chief Petty Officer Macallen. He was in charge of a team of Navy Special Operators attached to the ship.

And finally there was SPARTAN IV Fireteam Cerberus. They were something of a loose cannon. Officially assigned to the _Fallen's_ sister ship _What Once Was _they had come to meet the units they would work closely with.

In my opinion they should have been assigned to a Prowler.

"Where's Emily?" I asked, noticing my squadmate was absent from the room.

"She's at the range. Said there's a new gadget to test or something." Julianne said, not even looking up from her datapad.

"Isn't that your forte?" I asked.

"Normally, yea...But this one's a weapon."

"O-Kay then thanks Julie." I said, calling her by her nickname, which she hated. I left before she started to shout.

As I walked through the ship I saw the occasional sailor but mostly Army Rangers and ODST's, which was odd because we were on a ship, not a land based installation.

"Pierre, where are the ships crew?" I asked the ships A.I. Who appeared moments later on a pedestal beside me.

Most of them are tending the ship, why do you ask G-317?" He replied in his French accent.

"just curious. I've never seen so little of the crew on a ship before."

"Well this class of ship is new, yes, so the crew want to check everything themselves." He replied.

"Oh."

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**UNSC Prowler _From The Brink_ 21:15 hrs June 29 2557/UNSC Military Calendar/Ship Standard Time**

The cell was small. Very small. Even the ISB had bigger cells for their prisoners I thought.

I had been a Captain once, Captain Hal Trume. My ship was the finest in the fleet. The Imperial Star destroyer _Jedi's Folly. _ I was a proud individual serving not the Empire but the soldiers and sailors under my command.

Now what was I? A man who had lost his ship, who had watched it explode along with everyone aboard. When I had seen that I had made a promise.

I would find the families of those men and women, and I would tell them how their sons and daughters had served their government and their planets and hope that me just being their would ease their pain.

I knew that the man who had caused all of this would have to pay aswell. The man who's orders I had fallowed to the letter and who had caused so much pain and death.

His name was Admiral Yoseph Dreadler and force willing he would die.

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**STAR LINE YACHT _ETHEREAL BEAUTY_ 09:30 hrs June 29 2557/UNSC Military Calendar/Galactic Standard Time**

I wasn't content to just sitting around which I had been doing so I when't to see Captain Eduardo.

I found him in the mess hall with two more of my guards. I had a guard behind me, his DC-15 carbine ready to be used at a seconds notice.

"Commander Aventios." The Captain said, nodding.

"What happened to 'm'lady' Captain?" I asked, puzzled.

"We all know who you really are. You are Jedi Padawan Silva Aventios. Your master was Jof'es Gid and you fought on Munnilist during the last weeks of the Clone Wars. Your master was killed by clones of the 356th legion, your own men in compliance with order 66. You escaped by hiding in a separatist medical station and then sneaking aboard a republic cruiser." He said. "You don't need to hide that weapon from us." He said, pointing to my lightsaber. I quickly checked that it was hidden before asking him how he knew I had it on me.

"I've worked with Jedi in the past Commander. I know they never leave it behind."

I nodded before realizing we were near Naboo.

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**UNSC Frigate **_**For The Fallen** _**21:30 hrs June 29 2557/ UNSC Military Calendar/Ship Standard Time **

I had made my way to the Firing Range and upon seeing Emily made my way to her, but not before grabbing a weapon of my own, an MA5K2 suppressed carbine. I walked to the booth beside her.

Unlike me she wore her full SPI armour, helmet and all.

"Sophie." She said, in greeting.

"Emily. What weapon is that?" I said, gesturing toward the pistol sized weapon in her hands.

"This thing? It's an 'M1-57Plasma-Projector'. It's based off Covenant plasma weapons. But I dont really like it. Brings up to many memories."

The weapon was all black and looked like a cross between a Covenant plasma pistol and an M6H. The front was split like a plasma pistol but everything else looked human.

"Where do you think we're going to be deployed?" I asked, changing the subject.

"I don't know really. Atleast we didn't need Cryo. I hate it."

"Yeah, hey remember during training when we did a Cryo exercise you puked on Fireteam Saber's leader when we were unfrozen." I said, chuckling a bit at the memory.

"I remember you puking on CPO Mendez." She said. "And he made you run naked through the camp."

"That wasn't my fault okay, I can't control my puke." I said defensively.

Emily was about to continue but a message on the intercom stopped her.

"GENERAL QUARTERS, ALL HANDS TO GENERAL QUARTERS, ALL NON-ESSENTIAL PERSONNEL REPORT TO PREDETERMINED AREAS!"

"Let's go Sophie, move!" Emily yelled. We quickly returned our weapons and ran to our room, passing fully armed and armoured Marines and Damage Control teams.

when we made it to our room we found Julianne quickly putting her armour on. While this was happening the intercom still blared away.

"ALL PILOTS TO YOUR SHIPS, ALL PILOTS TO YOUR SHIPS, FIRETEAMS CHARLIE TO INDIA HEAD TO THE HANGER..."

"What's going on?" Julianne asked, donning her helmet.

"I don't know," I said putting my own armour on.

"I hope I didn't put my armour on for nothing." Julianne said.

In an hour General Quarters was lifted. It turns out this was the first time the fleet had ever had to use their stealth systems, something about passing a civilian ship. However we were called to a briefing. We had found our first target.

The briefing room was crowded. Kevin and Michael were already there, as were all the other unit commanders, the Captain was there aswell as a woman I didn't recognize guarded by two ONI soldiers. _Odd _I thought.

"Welcome everyone, sit down. We have a very long briefing a head of us." The Captain said Before gesturing towards the unknown woman. "This is 'Dono' and she would be what some of you oldies like myself call an Innie." He paused. "However we have no record of her on our systems and the simple reasoning is that she isn't from UNSC space. That's right ladies and gentlemen she hates this Empire as much as we do. She is helping us." Dono stepped forward.

"Hello. The planet we are currently going to is called Naboo." She pointed toward a Navy technician who was manning a projector. When the screen came online I saw a lush green planet with seas and mountains dotted around it's surface. "The Empire has a garrison of around 500 000 troops around its surface with help from the local security forces. Naboo's ruler, however seems to have anti imperial sentiments." Dono continued.

"The plan is to drop Captain Jennings Rangers with two attached mortar teams along with Fireteam Rapier four Kilometres from the capital city in the forests. You will make camp there and preform guerrilla style warfare on the enemy combatants. Fireteam Rapier is to make contact with a government official and attempt to make an alliance in secret. You will have further intel when you get dirtside. Questions, comments, concerns? No, good. The ODST's will drop along with Fireteam Cerberus on the other side of the planet. Dismissed." The Captain said.

It was another hour before we boarded the drop ships heading for the surface. The five of us would land an hour ahead and one klick away from the rangers main dropsite.

When we landed in a lush forest we quickly fanned out to check for hostiles before waiting for orders. Kevin turned to the rest of us and very quietly said the best words I've ever heard.

_"Let's get to work Rapier."_

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**That's it folks! I just wrote a Whopping 3000ish words. Okay 3000 isn't much but still, it's a start, right?**

**Im asking you guys to give me OC's in the form of Silva's guards. They HAVE to be human or human clones. Aside from that go wild. But be prepared for them to die very horrifically.**

**Please review and give me your OC's, and until next time...**

**FANFICTION POWRES ACTIVATE! :) :)**


	2. Chapter 2: Friends from afar

**Hello everyone! I'm back. I spent most of my vacation in Mexico (And what little rest of the summer I had) working on this when I had time. Your welcome. ;).**

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_"They may just be the finest SPARTANS ever."_

**Lieutenant Commander Kurt Ambrose. **

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**Surface of 'Naboo' 23:00 hrs, June 29 2557/UNSC Military Calendar/Ship Standard Time. **

The forest we were in was vast, untamed, and especially foggy. Nighttime didn't help us either. If we were anyone else it would have been impossible to move, however our SPI Mark III armour had the latest in VISR technology making it appear as if it was daytime instead of night.

_"Radio check, Rapier." _I said. As Fireteam leader it was my job to make sure my team was okay and combat ready.

_"Rapier 2 reporting in boss." _Julianne, Rapier 2 said as she materialized on my left hand side.

_"Rapier 3 ready to rock and roll!" _Michael, Rapier 3 yelled. Even though we were in a private COM channel reserved for the Fireteam I couldn't help but quickly check the dense forest surrounding us for hostiles that might've heard his outburst.

_"Rapier 4 here. Good to go chief."_ Sophie, Rapier 4 said as she de-cloaked to the far right of me.

I received a green acknowledgment light from Rapier 5. _Typical Emily. _I thought. _She probably won't speak until we're out of the 'Red Zone'. _

The red zone was our word for hostile territory, or to put it bluntly any shape of ground we didn't feel secure in.

_"Current ammo and supplies?" _I asked. _"I have Ten Magazines for the MA5K2. five mags for the M6C and one flash-bang grenade." _I said. I liked to double check my teams ammo and supplies the moment we touched the ground so I could remember who had what and if we lost anything during the drop.

_"Same thing boss except I have my datapad updated with everything we know about the hostiles." _Julianne said. As she was our technical expert I expected her to have updated her 'pad', she was also our resident scout.

_"Since you restricted us from bringing our special toys all I have is the same as you and Julie. It sucks by the way. What can I blow up with a flash-bang?" _He turned to see our reactions. I slowly shook my head._ "Exactly, Nothing!" _Michael said. As our explosives expert I knew he was mad about having no C12 on him but I was almost going to reprimand him if he kept this up.

_"I have the same as the rest of the team. I only have one can of foam though. Guess we'll have to share. And lighten up Mikey. Jeez." _Sophie said. Patting her left leg which had a case of Bio-Foam strapped to it.

_"I have the standard MA5K2 but with an 4x smart-link scope aswell as an M6C, same as you Rapier lead." _Emily said, de-cloaking beside one of the forests dense trees.

_"Good. I want a standard formation to the south, head for the Rangers dropsite. Radio silence from here on out unless it's an emergency."_ I said, quickly doing a visual check of my weapon before pointing towards our objective.

We all cloaked again and headed out. Julianne whent first. About 10 metres ahead of the rest of us. I was second, followed by Michael to my back right then Sophie to my back left. Emily was 5 metres behind us.

As we were walking I couldn't help but feel like I was on Onyx again. The forest was eerily similar. Albeit a little less foggy but still quite similar._  
_

Julianne yanked me out of my train of thought when she abruptly flashed a red acknowledgment light. _Stop._

I quickly went over to her. Finding her crouched behind a bush.

she gave me the sign for unknowns ahead. Her thumb pressed into her palm with her other fingers inwardly curled. She then pointed toward three figures wearing dark brown uniforms and what looked like steel helmets who were on patrol. They were alert but not overly cautious or uneasy. Julianne flashed two amber acknowledgment lights. The signal for a SPARTAN team member to request orders.

_"Don't fire. Hold. Rapier on me. Quietly." _I said_. _The rest of the team made their way to me and I quickly explained the situation.

_"They will probably see us, sir. We have to take them out." _Michael said_._

_"I agree boss." _Emily said. Bringing her weapon up to target the nearest unknown_._

_"Sophie what do you think?" _I asked. Staring at my teams medic.

_"Doesn't seem right chief, killing them and all. Your call though." _She said. Turning to look at me.

"_Five..."_ I said.

_"sir..." _She looked at me unsure

_"take them." _I said, face expressionless behind my helmet. I heard the six suppressed rounds hit their targets and in less than five seconds all three unknowns were dead on the forest floor.

_"Rapier 2 check them for I.D."_ I said_._

She ran towards them, the photo reactive panels in her armour blending in perfectly with the surrounding forest.

_"I.D tags them as members of the local security forces boss." _She reported_. "Orders?"_

_"Keep moving. I'll ask the Captain when we link up."_ I said_._ Motioning my team forward_. _

We made it to the Rangers dropsite in good time but they were already on the ground unpacking their supplies. I headed over to Captain Jennings and reported the three dead locals.

"This may make our job harder SPARTAN. Anyway your teams tent is over there along with the supplies you requsted. Get pitching SPARTAN." She said pointing towards a folded up forest cameo tent. Five duffel bags were beside it in a row Along with sleeping bags. I thanked her before making my way towards my team.

"Alright our tent is over there along with all our supplies." I heard Michael give a small 'woo' from inside his helmet.

We spent the better part of 15 minutes pitching our tent and putting our supplies in it. We slept diagonal to the door with our bags at our feet. Perfect.

The rangers had their tents in staggered lines with squads digging foxholes 100 meters to the west, towards the city.

It was a standard deployment to be honest. The only thing that wasn't standard was our objective. We had to get into the capital city without being seen and get to the planet's ruler, without being seen then we had to secretly make an alliance with her and get out of the city, once again without being seen. _Easy._ I mused. In reality I would have preferred one of the infamous suicide missions SPARTAN III's were known for to this. _  
_

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**Surface of 'Naboo' 09:00 hrs, June 30 2557/UNSC Military Calendar/Ship Standard Time**

I woke up on time as usual. Kevin was already up checking his armour's photo reactive panels while Sophie was trying to get Michael up, and upon him successfully awaking tackled Sophie to the ground in a small fit of anger. Emily was outside of the tent cleaning her weapon and calibrating its scope. I quickly did a check of my own equipment.

-Rifle. Check.

-Pistol. Check.

-Ammo for both. Check.

-Datapad. Check.

-Armour. Check.

"Rapier form up!" Kevin yelled, interrupting my checking. I quickly ran towards him.

"SPARTAN G-123 reporting as ordered Petty Officer!" I said, coming to attention.

"SPARTAN G-244 reporting as ordered Petty Officer!" Michael said, also coming to attention.

"SPARTAN G-317 reporting as ordered Petty Officer." Sophie said.

Emily came to attention but said nothing, as usual.

"We are heading into the city. Pack lightly it's just recon." Kevin said, a small smile on his lips.

"So do we get backup?" Sophie asked. "Five people going into a heavily guarded city alone seems alittle insane. Sir." She added.

"The Rangers will be on standby to assist if needed but yes we are going in alone. And lighten up Sophie, we were trained for the sole purpose of suicide missions So this is nothing." Kevin continued while quietly chuckling. "Remember that time on New Barbados."

"I don't forget dead friends, I thought you didn't either." Sophie said with a small hint of sadness in her voice.

I lowered my head and I saw Emily put a reassuring hand on Sophie's shoulder.

Kevin realized he had overstepped a line and started to apologize but Michael stopped him.

"We don't have time this guys. Let's go." He said walking in the direction of our armour and weapons. When he passed Sophie he said something so quiet my helmets voice recorders barely picked it up.

"Don't forget they were our friends to."

We left the camp a half hour later and made the slow, careful journey to the city in a diamond formation with Kevin in the middle. None of us talked during the walk. About twenty minutes into our journey we left the cover of the forest and saw our objective for the first time. The city was vast but had a certain character that cities back home lack.

Most of the buildings were only two stories tall but were artistically crafted. If we hadn't been enemies of the state I would have de-cloaked and went to meet the populace, however the white armoured imperial troops patrolling the crowded streets made me remember why we were here.

I quickly looked at their armour and weapons. The armour itself looked pristine meaning the troopers themselves took pride in the armour or were forced to clean it. The helmet was somewhat bulky in the front but it wasn't a major concern. I however wouldn't trade my SPI armour if my life depended on it, ever. The weapons were small black carbine sized rifles with a scope of some kind. Easy to use in an urban setting like this and small enough to be clipped to the troops belt as two troopers walked past me.

Aliens of all shapes and sizes were all over the place buying and selling goods and just talking with each other. My finger was dangerously close to pulling the trigger and it took every ounce of my strength to not gun all of the aliens down. I knew the rest of the team felt the same way, because through all the oaths and orders and missions all every SPARTAN III wanted to do was kill Covenant or anything remotely non-Human. There was talk of an alliance between us and the sangheili but I thought the idea was laughable. Even the average grunt would hate the idea and would never agree.

We had gone into an alley to orient ourselves. I pulled out the datapad and checked the map of the city the STARS satillite had made up. We were about a block from the palace. I let a small smile creep onto my face. Perfect.

It was still early morning and I doubted the Queen or whoever we were supposed to see was up yet but I followed orders and completed objectives even if I had to wake her myself we would speak with her.

We carefully made our way towards the palace and snuck past the guards. There was almost an incident when Sophie noticed a small crying girl and wanted to help but Kevin stepped in, reminding her that we weren't here for crying little girls, we were here to talk to the planets ruler.

We found the Queens chambers and quickly devised a plan, still keeping a wary eye out for anyone that would spot us. Our invisibility wasn't perfect and the panels could fail at anytime.

"Rapier 3 and 5 guard the door. Rapier 2 and 4 on me." Kevin said, quietly opening the door.

We made our way silently through three rooms before finding the queen. She was remarkably young most likely only twelve or thirteen, she had dark brown hair and green eyes and, to my embarrassment was completely naked from the waist up and only had an undergarment on with no bra. Handmaidens quickly picked out clothes for her but she took her time. I quickly averted my eyes before checking my photo reactive were still active.

"Uh chief. What do we do." Sophie asked, clearly embarrassed.

He took a second to think. "head back a room and I guess wait." He said. Making haste.

It took ten minutes but she quickly came out. Kevin de-cloaked in front of her and hesitantly knelt. Sophie and me did the same.

The queen was taken aback by three armoured figures kneeling in front of her and she nearly fell over in surprise. She screamed as we appeared from thin air. Her handmaidens quickly stepped in front of her and pulled pistols from their robes, telling her to stay back. I prayed they wouldn't shoot and it turned out my prayers came through as the queen told them to lower the weapons after some very tense moments.

"Don't shoot, we come as allies." Kevin quickly said as he lowered his weapon to the floor.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"We are trying to ascertain the same of you M'lady. Are you the Queen?" Kevin asked.

She hesitated before confirming it with a nod.

"I am Queen Apailana of Naboo. And seeing as you haven't killed me yet. Of which I think you've had more than one chance I ask you for your reasons to disturb me." She said.

Kevin stood up and motioned for Sophie and me to do the same.

"I ask again, who are you?" She said.

"I am Petty Officer First Class SPARTAN-G097 and these are my colleagues SPARTANS-G123 and G317 and our superiors would like to propose a meeting. Secretly, of course." Kevin said.

"And your superiors would be..." the queen asked, from a frighted child into a politican.

"The United Nations Space Command, the military arm of the Unified Earth Government. Ma'am." Kevin continued, not missing a beat.

"And this United Earth Government wants a secret meeting why, Petty Officer."

"One of our colonies was destroyed by the empire. We want payback and we know you have anti imperial feelings. All we ask is that you consider an alliance and know that any talk of 'rebels' is really us. Your men will not be harmed if we can help it."

"We?"

"There is a larger group of our forces on your planet and we have ships cloaked in orbit. Forgive us for the intrusion." Kevin said.

"This is...a lot to think about. How will I contact you for the meeting?" The queen asked.

"Send a guard with your response during an imperial patrol, have them place their hands above their head and kneel on the ground when we dispatch the others."

I then realized Emily had flashed three red acknowledgment lights, the signal to retreat. I quickly brought my weapon to bear on the door. Most likely startling the guards and frighting the queen but that wasn't my concern.

_"Rapier 5, what's your status." _Kevin asked over the com.

_"Two hostile drones coming down the main corridor, be advised they're fast." _

_"Have you been compromised?" _

Emily_ was _about to reply when we heard a weapons discharge_. _

"Move Rapier. Number five what's your status?" Kevin asked as the three of us headed towards Michael and Emily.

We opened the last door to find Emily taking cover behind a pillar. She turned towards us, giving a small greeting via the 'SPARTAN Smile'

"Hostiles have me pinned, sir. Michael's trying to get behind them. They have shields, like domed things. Weapons have no effect." She said.

I engaged my cameo in an attempt to run to another pillar and managed to get a good look at the drones.

They were walking on three thin legs with a hunched body and a ball like shape in the middle, in all they looked really flimsy but the energy shields really helped. Nothing we fired got through.

"Rapier 3 are you in position?" Kevin asked, firing at the drones.

"Yes sir and I have a pack of C-12 for each of these piles of junk."

I saw him appear behind the drones and slowly place the explosives inside their shields before cloaking again. He appeared beside me and held up ten fingers. If I hadn't known him since December 2545 I would have never known what he was doing but to me it was clear.

We ran as fast as our legs could carry us and ended up jumping out of a window to avoid the blast which occurred ten seconds after the explosives were placed. After that we faded into the city and made our way back to base.

* * *

**Planet of Kamino, Tipoca City, 12:00 hrs, June 30 2557/UNSC Military Calendar/Galactic Standard Time **

_This latest batch was a joke! I'll never understand why the army is clones, are ordinary people not good enough? a thousand of these clones would never stand up to a common rebel, never mind a full fledged professional army! _I thought bitterly.

My name was Johnssa Hilleg and I was head instructor for the Republic's and now the Empire's clone trainees on Kamino, and upon learning that the Empire had found a new civilization and had destroyed one of its worlds I was quite furious. I wasn't a stranger to worlds made barren by orbital bombardment or the concept of war itself. I was mad, however because my trainees didn't know what to expect from their opponents.

I would have continued my silent rantings had I not been interrupted by one of my aids.

"Colonel Hilleg, sir. We just received this from the garrison on Naboo. They have requested an additional company to bolster their strength in light of a failed assassination attempt on the queen." he paused to place a datapads chip into a hologram projector, an image appeared on the projector. "These are images of the assassins, sir. Aswell as all the tactical data we've gained on them, for your viewing sir." The aide said before saluting and stepping out of the room.

I stared at the image with a small hint of pride and of worry. The image was most likely taken from a droids photoreceptors but I could see the figures quite clearly. There were four of themselves, one of them was in the open aiming and firing their weapon, a slugthrower as people called them here perfectly while running towards cover. The other three were either in cover or in the midst of firing. I stared at the weapons they held and the armour they wore. It was SPI armour. The symbol of a SPARTAN III and the last thing so many covenant troops never saw.

I turned away from the image and walked towards a closet in the far corner of my room and upon opening it saw a set of armour almost identical to the ones the 'assassins' were wearing. The only differences were that mine was matte grey and had signs of battle all over It. There were burn marks along the chest piece and forearms and the gold visor was cracked. I smiled, knowing atleast some of my SPARTANS were still fighting.

I made it my goal to help them in anyway possible because somewhere, deep down I knew I wasn't Colonel Johnssa Hilleg...

I was Lieutenant Commander Kurt Ambrose.

* * *

**Sooooo, how was that? **

**I have a beta (I think) So thank you for beta'ing half the chapter theotherpianist**

**(I wanted to get this to you guys before I go back to school so I only have half the chapter beta'd) **

** I realize I kinda skipped out on how Rapier got away but I decided to just end it there.**

**I'll explain what happened on New Barbados later in the story but your all welcome to take a guess. Nothing specific like 'oh I think it's little Timmy from around the corner' just say if you think the dead friends were fellow soldiers or civilians.**

**Also Kurt! I'll explain how he's here later but he will factor in I promise you. **

**Until next time please review and favourite/follow this story if you haven't already. Please.**


	3. Chapter 3: Hit and Run

**Hey everyone! It's me. **

**Shoutout to a random guest who was really exited about the partnership of myself and theotherpianist. theotherpianist personally said you seemed 'enthralled'. If you read his story (which I assume you do) you'll see some familiar faces in his story. Five to be exact...**

**Also I'll have a Q/A 'chapter' that I'll constantly update so if you have a question just ask. I'll respond as soon as I can. that'll be up after I get a guest review for this chapter. **

* * *

_To_ _codename: Piped Piper_

_From codename: Safecracker_

_Date sent 09/13/52_

_Encryption level: Omega _

_Lieutenant Ambrose. I assume you received the after-action report from operation STINGRAY? Ackerson deemed the operation a success. I don't know about you but ten out of fifteen NAVSPEC operators dead doesn't seem like a success to me. The loss of more than half of Group Hammmer is a stunning blow. There is good news though. Hammer managed to destroy the covenant's refinery on site. ONI SECTION III has authorized shipment of Mark III armor to Hammer and hopefully the rest of the company._

_Please see the attached files if you have any questions_

_Captain Andrew Delli, ONI SECTION III_

* * *

**ORDERS FOR UNIT E-13-HF/Enforcement, unit 13, Home Forces**

**Commander Wilkus Vander**

your units orders are as follows:

1. Find and preform reconissance on the assassins that threatened the queen.

2. Arrest anyone suspected of aiding them except tier 4 level officials, they will be dealt with directly by ISB agents.

3. Quell any signs of uprising among the local populace, the Venator class star destroyer _False Flag_ has given command of a company of its infantry and an armoured brigade to your forces to use at your leisure.

4. Root out these 'Shadows' and eliminate them. They are **priority one targets.**

* * *

******SPARTAN Sophie-G317, Outskirts of Naboo capital city, 0300 hrs, July 7. 2557/UNSC Military Calendar/ Local time**

"your relived, corporal." I said to the Ranger on duty. He nodded.

"Watch out for yourself. SPARTAN. Don't want to lose our advantage." He said.

I smiled under my helmet. "Copy all, corporal."

This was my first time on sentry duty and I was somewhat nervous. It was mostly because we had know idea what was on the planet. A branch breaking might signal an animal or an enemy. We had to be careful.

A few minutes passed with nothing out of the ordinary, then a half-hour. I was starting to get sleepy. As soon as I realized this I instantly swept my rifle across my sector, unpleasant memories coming to mind.

"Hey Sophie, how'ya been?" I froze, there, leaning on a tree was a SPARTAN clad in SPI Mark II armour, an M7 hanging loosely by its side.

"Identify yourself!" I said. My weapon aimed. I knew who it was and that was why I was aiming down a fellow SPARTAN: because this SPARTAN was dead.

"Don't remember me? Come on Sophie, it's me Ellie." The SPARTAN, Ellie said.

"Your not real. I saw you die, back on New Barbados. Your a hallucination." I said, my rifle still aimed.

"Maybe, maybe. But then again, who's to say your not dead either?"

"Because...because I'm not. I'm alive, I know it!" I said back. I have to end this, I had to shoot. I closed my eyes and fired. When I opened them Ellie was gone. Within seconds a squad of Rangers were around me, sweeping for targets. The squad's leader approached me.

"Sitrep?"

"I saw something. It was probably an animal." I said.

"Still." The squad leader turned towards his men. "M'cord your on point. Let's see if we can find whateve. The SPARTAN hit. Your relived, we'll take it from here." He said to me. I simply nodded. Ellie's last words at the forefront of my mind:

_who's to say your not dead either?_

* * *

**SPARTAN Emily-G045, Outskirts of Naboo capital city, 1540 hrs, July 7. 2557/UNSC Military Calendar/ Local time**

It had been one week since our arrival planetside and we had quickly begun attacking outposts and isolated imperial units.

We were currently cleaning our armour and weapons after one such attack, alongside the Captain and her radio-man. The base was in shifts of one platoon staying at base camp to rest and rearm and one platoon was either on guard duty or attacking predetermined targets.

"Worst plan ever, of all time." Michael said. "Who made that plan anyway? A five year old?"

"It was one of our worst." Sophie replied.

"No, that time in training during capture the flag. That was the worst." I said.

"Which ti-...oh yeah that was horrible." Michael said.

"You mean when you used me as a shield to grab the flag?" Julianne asked.

"Yeah, that time." I said with a smile. Julianne threw her empty MRE package at me which I easily dodged.

"You missed." I said, however from behind me I heard one of the Rangers yell.

"Hey, what the fuck. I just got this cleaned!"

"Stow it Grif! Your armour looked like shit anyway." Another Ranger said, loosely holding a shotgun. I noticed his rank was that of a sergeant and quickly turned to Julianne.

"Now look what you did. You got that poor Ranger yelled at." I said in an innocent tone.

"Specialist Grif over there? Don't worry about it, his sergeant has it in for him anyway." Frost, the radio-man, said.

"Oh, well in that case it's fine then, right?" Julianne asked.

"shh. It's on." Frost said, turning up the volume of the radio. In the first raid we had managed to gain some imperial radio equipment which we soon learned how to use and subsequently used to monitor imperial units. Specifically ones that were about to be attacked.

_"Rancor 1-2 this is Rancor base, radio check, over."_

_"Rancor base, Rancor 1-2 we read you loud and clear, over."_

_"Copy that. Keep us advised, over."_

_"Roger roger base. Wait I see something in the trees. HT-2863 hold position! We are imperial stormtroopers. Come out of the trees and identifly yourself!" _The trooper manning the radio said. _"Come out or we will fire!"_

We then heard a sound that could only be the mortar crews firing. We all knew the target.

_"Incoming! Hit the dirt! Corporal find out where these guns are!"_

Some of the Rangers were listening to their own radios to so they could hear the battle from the attacking Rangers perspective.

_"Magrath keep your machine gunners supressing them, assault teams go in three...two...one, go, go, go!"_

The Rangers plan was simple. The Rangers with SAWs and rifle grenades, which were one each per sqaud, would lay down suppressing fire when the artillery stopped, While the three other members would jetpack into the enemy lines and go into melee. Because they were so often in CQB distance Rangers had access to weapons no one else in the UNSC would use. Like for example tomahawks, machetes and a personal favourite of mine, the AS-40. A fully automatic cut-down shotgun with ten rounds per clip, able to be attached via the magnetic clamps on the leg armour in place of an SMG or pistol.

_"Hostiles behind the first vehicle, team three shift your fire to the first vehicle!" _The Rangers platoon leader said, yelling orders to his men.

_"Copy last Blackjack 1 actual, shifting fire."_

_"Blackjack stand down, all hostiles neutralized. Pack up and move before enemy QRF get here." _The Rangers platoon leader said, then to Captain Jennings: _"Blackjack 1 returning to base, two of my men are wounded, one critical, shiny got her pack mid-flight, head trauma. And one of the SAW's needs a new barrel, over."_

_"Copy that Blackjack 1, medics will be on standby to receive wounded."_

_This has been one hell of a week. _I thought as the Rangers strode in.

* * *

**Private Yale Strauss, Venator class Star destroyer ****_False Flag_****, en route to Naboo**

"The worst job ever on this kriffing ship and I have it, just my luck!" I yelled in between counting the hundreds of standard issue blasters meant for the ground complement, of which I was apart of.

"Strauss, shut your force-stanged mouth you worthless piece of-" my Platoon Sergeant started to yell.

"That's quite enough, Platoon Sergeant." Another voice said. I turned to find my company executive officer. he continued. "Private Strauss you have been transferred to Corporal Yikkies' squad. Report to him at once."

I couldn't help but smile, Yikkies' was the most liked trooper in our platoon, however no one really treated him like a friend, more like a mentor. he was apart of some planets militia during the Clone Wars and was drafted into the Stormtrooper corps so that there were experienced NCO's available. He had fought in one of the worst battles of the war and it had made him rather depressed. I'm pretty sure all he wanted was to be home again and not killing every being he met.

I quickly saluted before heading to the mess hall, where anyone from the corps would be.

I passed naval crewmen aswell as some guys from the armoured unit that would be heading to Naboo with my company.i said hello before continuing on.

When I arrived at the mess hall I spotted Yikkies' easily. He had brown hair that was beginning to turn grey and soft, honest hazel eyes. He was sitting alone in the far corner of the mess hall, holding a piece of paper. I had a curious look on my face as I walked over to him, the reason being that paper was so hard to come by nowadays that it surprised me. I had only seen paper once when I was young.

"Corporal Yikkies', sir?" I asked. He looked up at me for the briefest of moments. "I was transferred to your squad, sir. Private Yale Strauss, sir!" I said.

"Sit down, son." He said, gesturing to the seat across from him. I sat down and looked at him expectantly. When he turned his head and I saw his face I almost took a step back. Little good it would've done me as I was sitting down but his face showed a man who had lost something dear to him and was fed up with the world because he couldn't see it anymore. I realized he had been crying.

"Listen to me, and listen close." He said, almost growling. " I see that look in your eyes, your green as grass son So when we get to Naboo and the blasters start firing you WILL listen to me and you WILL treat the squad as family, more than family because if you don't then all of us die! Get that!" He said, anger riseing with each word spoken.

I nodded quickly.

"Good, good. Who was your last NonCom?" He asked, his tone changing.

"Corporal Hunds, sir." I said.

"He's a good man, I heard he put you on weapons duty." He replied, mentioning my previous job.

"No sir, that was the Sarge." I said. He smiled.

"Ah. I knew Hunds wasn't that evil. You'll do alright here, son. now could you leave me be, please, go find the rest of the squad, I'm sure you know who they are. I just need to...I just need to think about some things." He said, staring at the piece of paper again.

I nodded and left, and as I was leaving I couldn't help but here him start to cry a gain and say very softly. "I'm so sorry Sabine." I was puzzled by this but said nothing.

I found the rest of the squad in the shooting range, practicing. I went over to the weapon rack and picked up an E-11 blaster before taking my place at the range.

Beside me was trooper JG-1243, Hiclie Kruppman. I had seen him around but didn't really know him, we had never spoke. He turned towards me.

"So Your the one who's been sent to replace that stupid clone, eh? What's your name?" He asked. I noticed that his accent was from the outer rim but I couldn't tell which planet.

"Yes I am. How did you know anyway?" I asked, alittle taken aback by his 'stupid clone' statement.

"2304 overheard the XO and the Sarge talkin' about it." I nodded.

"Hey 43! Who's the new meat shield!" A voice yelled from behind us. I turned my head towards the voice and found myself looking at Zapp Adbrin, trooper XC-7676.

"I'm Priv-" I started to say.

"I know who you are. Your father's a kriffing admiral. 'hero of Condira' and all that. why are you here? you could have been an officer with a thousand servent girls and an estate big enough for a star destroyer. You. Don't. Belong. Here." he said, jabbing his finger with each accusation.

"I'm not on speaking terms with my father right now-" I began. _How does he know?_

"I don't care if your not. The point is do you think you can come here and act all tough and hardcore? Do you think you've eared the right to be here like the rest of us. Me, I know I've eared it and I'll go very far in the corps let me tell you and you know why? Because I care about my job And I know there's glory to be had in the Stormtrooper corps And you won't get in the way of that." he yelled. I nodded slowly.

"You think there's glory to be had here trooper? I'd look somewhere else." A new voice said. I realized it was Corporal Yikkies'.

"As if I'm going to believe that Corp. we all know you're an emotional wreck but you can't dissuade me. I was born for this." Adbrin countered. "It would be better if we could go fight the barbarians like the rest of the battalion instead of some stupid traitorous rebels."

"If you were born for killing innocent beings I'm rather worried." Yikes replied, his tone neutral.

"Sir?" I asked.

"What I mean is if you think this job is all fluff and parades then I have a reality check for you. This isn't about fighting back the horrible barbarians and evil rebels. this is about not letting what emperor Palpatine has come crashing down."

"But the barbarians attacked the exploratory fleet sir! They shot first!" Adbrin said, sure of himself.

"Wrong! The admiral in charge ordered the primitives to be arrested and their territory taken over! He ordered for them to be subjugated and enslaved, and when they fought back he ordered them to be killed. Get that in your head trooper! The empire bullies beings into submission and kills them when they refuse! You may think those barbarians to be animals like the propaganda says but they're not. During the war I was sent to Republic occupied seppie planets and you know what I saw? I didn't see monsters or demons or scum. I saw mothers and fathers and younglings and just plain beings. Not monsters like the propaganda said, and this wont be any different. Those 'barbarians' have mothers and fathers and younglings to. Remember that trooper, remember that your killing someones son or daughter when you pull the trigger." Yikkies' said before turning around and leaving.

For some reason I followed him, I needed to know why he was so depressed, he wouldn't tell me so I would find out myself. I followed him to the platoons hallway. (each platoon had a designated hallway for sleeping.) he entered his room but left the door open. I hid in my room which was across the hall and watched him leave. My conscience was kicking in now and I was douting myself, reminding myself I was better than looking at another mans private life. I saw Yikkies' leave and was about to aswell when I saw another trooper sneak into his room.

"What are you doing?" I asked to the trooper, revealing myself.

the trooper turned. "None of your concern."

"I think it is. You're stealing from my squad leader." I shot back.

"So youre that new guy then, huh. I'm Kal Tosh by the way, and I saw you follow YIkkies' before so you're no better than me. What were you looking for anyway?" he asked.

"A slip of paper Yikkies' had with him in the mess. I want to know whats on it." i replied.

"I'm lookin' for that aswell...if I steal it you wont tell, will you?"

"Not if i can read it, no." _What are you doing you stupid fool! _I thought.

"Good. I'll be right back then." Tosh said, sneaking into Yikkies' room. It took about a minute and two close calls before Tosh finally came out holding a paper envolope.

"Did you get it? I asked, eyeing the hallway.

Tosh nodded. "I know a place where we can read this in private...lets go." I followed Tosh to the very back of the ship and found myself in an observation room of sorts.

"The Jedi needed a place to meditate, and because this is an older ship this was built." Tosh explained. I could see the stars in all their majesty here. I always liked the stars. "They don't have these on the newer ships."

"Alright...lets get reading shall we?" I said. More like ordered. _This is not good. Your better than this!_

Tosh stuck his hand into the envelope, pulling out two pieces of paper. "One's a picture, The others a note. Here." He said, handing them to me._  
_

"Don't you want to read it?" I asked.

"Nope! I just took it to get Yikkies' riled up! Thanks for taking the blame for me!" Tosh yelled, running away.

"Wait! Stop!" I yelled after him. "You no good piece of poodoo!"

I then turned towards the picture and note.

The picture was of a young human woman. Possibly in her early to mid thirties sitting on a park bench, she had black hair and hazel eyes. There were beautiful Trees with their leaves turning yellow and orange behind her. A little girl no older than a year old sat on her lap. She had Black hair and Hazel eyes like her mother. In her little hands was a Mandalorian helmet painted a light pink on the top and grey on the bottom, spilt by the visor. They were smiling and looked happy._ Yikkies' family. _I thought. I turned to the letter.

___Dearest Vans_

___Have you heard about the other civilization they found on the edge of outer rim? It's all the Empire talks about here._

___Of course you've heard! You're a big brave soldier! _

___The bakery is doing well. I'm so busy with Sabine I haven't had time to work so I asked the neighbours kids to help out. I've made a deal with them. A quarter of the pay they make goes to them and the rest goes to us. I hope you don't mind._

___I was putting Sabine to bed the other day when she asked about you. She said. "Mommy I miss daddy. Where is he?" I couldn't respond. I NEED you. Your daughter needs you!. Please as soon as you can come home._

___Sabine's started walking! Can you believe it? I wish you were here with us. I know you are needed but I can't help but wonder why they had to pick you. There are plenty of other big strong men here. We miss you._

___Sabine and I can't wait to see you again! Please write back. _

___Your loving wife, Eveni_

I stared at the letter for what seemed like hours, reading every inch and making sure I hadn't missed anything. I was angry, no I was furious! I was furious at the pathetic waste of an officer that had let this 'rebellion' grow freely. Adbrin was right. I could of had a thousand servants and a large estate. (I already had the latter) and provided my father was in a good mood I could have the commander in charge of the Naboo garrison shot by firing squad. Hell _I'd _shoot him myself. The upper echelon of the empire had no right to go and draft Yikkies', take him away from his family and send him to fight. I hid the envelope from my fellow soldiers when I walked back. I placed the envelope with everything inside it back in Yikkies' room. Then turned to go to my own. We would be at Naboo in a few hours and I needed some sleep, however sleep would not be nice to me today as I found myself dreaming of home, where I went by a different name. _Home...how I miss it._

* * *

**Planet of Balvra, near the capital city of Liavis, 5:30 PM, 13 of June/ Balvra calendar/Local time**

**_one year earlier_**

I stared at the mountains and rivers of my home. No matter how many times I looked at them. I then looked to the beautiful girl. _No woman. S_prawled on the blanket beside me. Her brown hair and blue eyes mesmerized me. _  
_

"Stop...Yale stop. Not now."

"Why not?" I asked.

"your father might-."

"My fathers not here. Annette come on."

"No...just...it's not right. It doesn't feel right, I mean." Annette said.

"why? There's no time like the present." I argued.

"no...I really should be getting home." She said.

"Fine, fine. Let's go." I said, somewhat irritated. We walked through the park and got to my car. As my family's very influential on the planet i was given only the best. Including the cars I drove. It was a newer model Roch-34. I personally loved the frame and body of the car. I opened the passenger door for Annette and when she was situated I went to the drivers side, got in and started the car.

We passed a lot of manors and estates on our journey back but paid them no mind. When we arrived at Annette's house I bid her a fine evening before continuing on my way. I drove though Liavis on my way home and quickly got a cup of caf before continuing my drive home.

When I reached my house I parked the car and quickly headed for the front door.

"How was your day, sir?" My butler asked as I stepped into the entryway of my manor house.

"Fine August, it was fine." I replied.

"Do you require anything, sir?"

"No, thank you. I think I'll just retire to my quarters tonight."

Of course, sir. Have a good evening."

"You to August."

* * *

**Private Yale Strauss, Venator class Star destroyer ****_False Flag_****, en route to Naboo**

I awoke to the sound of yelling.

I opened my door to see troopers running towards the armoury.

"Strauss lets go! On your feet trooper!" A voice said, in the chaos I couldn't hear who it was but I headed their words as I instantly began running for the armoury.

"Whats happening." I asked, noticing Yikkies' in front of me.

"We're at Naboo, it's time."

I silently cursed. I looked around at my fellow troopers. _Most of us wouldn't survive the coming weeks._ I thought.

I quickly put my white armour on before poking up my E-11 blaster, strapping it to my side I then donned the helmet of a stormtrooper. Whoever the enemy was, they would soon learn to fear us, even if I didn't want them to.

* * *

** Jedi Padawan Silva Aventios, Naboo/capital city of Theed**

I drummed my fingers on my leg. listening to the various figures in the lavish room. if there's one thing I don't like, its meetings, they just never accomplished anything. It had been a week since my arrival and the assassination attempt on the Queen. I had ran to her aid at the first sound of weapons fire then. it sounded so _alien. _After that incident the Queen's loyal officers and advisors were briefed on the meeting that occurred between her and the 'assassins'. The prospect of a never-before seen faction was unnerving. Two days after that the general public learned of the UNSC's existence. I was generally surprised to learn there was a civilization that by all accounts used slugthrowers as primary weapons. _Surly they have blasters?_ I thought.

"So. what do we know about them?" The Naboo captain of the guard asked. referencing the UNSC currently in hiding.

"Not much, I'm afraid. All we know is they wish to meet with us." the Queen said.

"But where, when? How?" there's to many unknowns, m'lady." I said. After my arrival I had explained to the queen my predicament and as I was, so far the ranking Jedi present I was made her personal protector. In secret of course. The Empire was everywhere.

"I've sent one of our men with the Imperial convoy currently leaving as we speak. hopefully he isn't caught in the crossfire." The Queen said.

"And if he is? Which side should he shoot? Empire or UNSC?" the guard Captain asked.

"Which ever one he needs to." The Queen replied.

* * *

**guardsman Filke Yuppion**

The guardsman was nervously holding his pistol as he sat in the back of a troop carrier. every other seat was occupied by an Imperial Stormtrooper.

The carrier was with another two vehicles, both speeder bikes.

"Incoming, incoming! rebels in the trees. first squad dismount and form up!" a voice yelled as weaponsfire filled the air. the troopers dismounted one by one, forming a single line of crouched bodies. "fire at will. Watch yourselves, enemy artillery is firing." the voice yelled again as the troopers returned fire. Then as if by the flick of a switch it stopped.

The stormtroppers were uneasy, their blasters pointed downrange when smoke filled their vision. The troopers formed a ragged square formation, with the guard at the center.

"Corporal take two troopers and flush those womp-rats out." the sergeant said. One trooper tapped two on the shoulders before all three moved into the smoke. about one minute later the rest of the troopers heard several screams and blasterfire. then they saw to their horror the corporal crawl towards them, his once pristine armor covered in blood. he made it to the closest trooper before some unseen force broke his neck.

"What the-" A trooper said as he was dragged into the smoke, his screams filling the air. His fellow troopers tried pulling him back or shooting his attacker. One shot hit it however and a golden glow in the outline of a person appeared. The offending trooper was quickly killed by another unseen attacker. In seconds the squad was killed, leaving the guardsmen alone. he dropped his pistol and placed his hands on his head, hoping he would avoid the the fate that befalled his 'comrades'.

To his surprise a figure appeared wearing green/grey armor with a golden faceplate. A rifle of unfamiliar design in its hands. Two more figures wearing identical armor appeared beside the first, weapons raised.

"Are you a member of her majesty's royal guard?" The first figure asked in a modified voice.

"Y...yes, yes I am." The guardsman said.

"Tell your queen we wish to meet at this location in five hours. She may bring one guard of her choosing aswell as one advisor. if there is any treachery we have orders to kill her...don't be late." And with that the figures disappeared, leaving the guardsman quite scared and confused.

* * *

_To codename: Piped Piper_

_From codename: Goblin_

_Date sent: 09/13/52_

_You received the report, then? I'll be honest with you Kurt. I didn't think any of them would come back alive. I'm glad to see that I was at least partly wrong. Still that's the highest casualty rating for a mission like that. I'm glad the spooks green-lit the armor ,though. It'll give the rest of the company a fighting chance. They'll finally be armed like SPARTAN's. It took six hundred of them to die for the spooks to get better armor...I'm beginning to wonder who's the real bad guy here. Us or them?_

_I'll send you the relevant files for Delta when I get the chance._

_ From: Chief Petty Officer Mendez_

* * *

**That's all, folks! **

**I'm only 250 words from a 5,000 word chapter. maybe next time then, eh?**

**Once again a big thank you to theotherpianist for being my ever diligent beta. I couldn't have done it without you! (well I could've but it would be filled with mistakes and such)**

**Just so you guys know the messages at the beginning and end of the chapter are from 2552 detailing an operation of parts of Gamma company.**


	4. Chapter 4: Castle

**Hello everyone. I have a very special announcement to make! Myself and theotherpianist are in a mutual partnership! theotherpianist made a small letter so that all you people could know this is offical.**

To all readers of gwb99's work Shadows of war

My name is theotherpianist and I am also a FanFiction writer like gwb99. Some of you may have seen my work but I encourage you to read (and keep reading) this story for its enormous growth from where it first began.

It is my pleasure to be able to announce publicly a partnership between himself and I that will extend beyond beta-reading.

We are also pleased to announce to you that our stories will, for lack of better terms, share.

You can now expect things between our stories to be shared. I hereby give permission (for all that are plagiarism happy)

Thank you connoisseurs of the FanFiction world. We look forward to sharing more great things with you in the future

Sincerely,

theotherpianist

**So yeah! I hope you guys enjoy and if you haven't read theotherpianists' story I highly suggest you do. Remember this partnership goes both ways. ;) **

* * *

**Capital city of UNSC colony world Tempest, 12:00 hrs, July 8 2557/UNSC Military Calendar/Military Standard Time **

The invasion had been going on for around five hours now. It was inevitable, really. Tempest had only a small Pickett fleet of around ten ships and two barely operational orbital Defense Platforms.

The UNSC Navy hadn't gone down with out a fight, however, as the destroyed hulks of numerous Imperial ships floated around in orbit. Their remains serving as a grim reminder to naval captains of both sides.**  
**

Now the capital was a hotly contested zone, it's tight streets and small alleyways almost mocking troop commanders. The imperial's couldn't get heavy armour into the city and were forced to rely on AT-RT's and speeder bikes to help the infantry, however the UNSC faced the same predicament. There would be no Scorpion armour support.

However this allowed the army and marines to try out their newer urban combat doctrines and weapons. One such weapon was the M-57A, more unofficially known as the 'Wolf'.

It was essentially an armoured, enlarged mongoose ATV with six wheels. The driver and gunner were protected from harm by a plate of armour fastened onto the front, encasing the driver. The gunner was protected from the front and sides but was completely open to attack from the back. An M247L machine gun protruded from the front controlled by the driver and a older version of the M41 Light Anti Aircaft Gun was on the top of the vehicle infront of the gunner's position, for use by the gunner. It was designed as a rapid hit and run armoured car however it seemed to be perfect for tight city combat. Right now a group of four (backed by a group of infantry) was currently mowing down a platoon of Stormtroopers to incredibly deadly effect.

"Gunner target the guy in the first story window, on your 3!" The infantry's squad leader yelled. The first wolf's gunner turned to fire blowing out the window when he did, killing the unlucky imperial and anyone around him. The squad of marines stormed the house, killing anyone who wasn't wearing green or tan fatigues before the group moved on to the next house.

In the ONI complex at the end of the city the UNSC wasn't having nearly as much success. The courtyard was wider then the streets, allowing for 2-M hovertanks to prowl about killing all they saw. The imperials had fought the hardest for this section of city and the stormtroopers had come to realize the best thing to do when confronted by the black armoured soldiers known as 'Trojans' was to blow anything and everything up with in a kilometer radius.

The stormtroopers were methodical in their advance, now. Their tanks slowly moving forwards supported by infantry. All of a sudden the first tank exploded in a brilliant display of UNSC hardware. the surviving crewman jumping out and running for cover, only to be killed by an unseen shooter.

"Good kill Castle Four. I'm engaging." A figure hidden behind a support beam said. He moved out of cover behind the imperials and gunned the closest down. His navy blue MJOLNIR GEN1 armour glinting in the early afternoon sun as he proceeded to kill over a squads worth of stormtroopers before quickly moving back into cover. He keyed his COM, all the while exchanging bursts with the remaining stormtroopers.

"Titan Actual you're clear to engage."

"Copy that Castle Actual!" the voice on the other end said. "Marines! How do we go?"

While Castle Actual couldn't here the response he already knew what it was.

_We go Feet_ _First_ _Sergeant! _

* * *

** Lieutenant Jessica Miller, Office of Naval Intelligence site Bravo 6, Earth, 14:45 hrs, July 8, 2557/UNSC Military Calendar/Military Standard Time**

"I'm going to be late! Couldn't this go by any quicker?" I asked one of the marines at the security checkpoint.

"Sorry ma'am but no. With those "Imperials" being human and all ONI's being cautious. Can't say I blame 'em." The marine said "They are ONI, after all."

"Yes I'm well aware of how they operate Corporal. Damn spooks." I said as the marines finished their security checks. I was waved through and as soon as I was able I broke out into a sprint, shoving fellow officers and marines out of the way.

When I reached the waiting room the dumb A.I handling the Admiral's appointments had told me to wait as the Admiral was already in a meeting.

While I waited I thought she might aswell watch the T.V. There was the usual holodrama's and reality shows but what caught my eye was an ad for the Military.

It depicted a trench, basked in smoke on some unknown colony, plasma and rifle fire crisscrossed overhead while the body of a recently deceased soldier of an unknown branch, either army or marines lay dead. his hands firmly grasping his rifle in a death grip. Then from the smoke came the figure of a SPARTAN II. its green armour casting an ethereal glow on the battlefield. It knelt by the soldier, retrieving his tags before motioning to someone off screen. The rifle fire above the trench intensified as the SPARTAN loaded a new magazine into its rifle before hopping over the trench, followed by a group of marines. Then the screen went black before displaying the UNSC flag. the narrator telling the viewers to 'join up and fight'.

They had been playing that ad and others like for years. To boost the fighting strength of the military. A twenty seven year long war's going to deplete your soldiers, no matter if you win.

"The Admiral will see you, now." The A.I said.

"Thank you." I said, walking into the Admiral's office.

" 1st Lieutenant Miller. Good of you to come." Admiral Osman said, her hands holding a datapad. I came to attention, my body ramrod straight. There was a saying in the lower echelons of ONI;

'_When in the presence of CINCONI don't fuck up'._

"I assume you have the files I requested?" Osman asked. She didn't call me to 'At Ease' as was customary.

"Yes ma'am. I have them right here." I knew this wasn't about some files. It was much larger than that.

"Good. What do you know of a Task force SHADOW?" Osman said, her face betraying no emotion.

"Not much ma'am. I don't believe that's in my field of expertise." I replied. Though I DID know of them. I had handled the task forces' plan and had come up with the idea to use rangers.

Osman scrolled down her datapad. "1st lieutenant Jessica Miller, formerly SPARTAN-B301 of SPARTAN III Beta company. Pulled out of the company by lieutenant Ambrose three weeks prior to operation TORPEDO." I froze. "Am I correct?" Osman asked.

"Yes ma'am." I said. My body becoming straighter.

"You were sent to ONI section I as a negotiator for insurrectionists. We have need of your services again Lieutenant. You will head to the colony of Tempest and extract two SPARTAN's, designate Castle team. You will then rendezvous with task force SHADOW and help...negotiate a treaty with the natives of an imperial world."

I gulped. "Your transport will be the UNSC _Rainbow. _You have been given a personal A.I to assist you. Sabrina, come on out." Osman said. If the head of ONI was briefing me I knew this was big. Very, very big. An A.I appeared 'wearing' the uniform of an officer from ONI section I. The A.I had shoulder length hair and a rounded face. It saluted Osman, then me.

"Hello. I am CTN 0984-1 Sabrina, at your service lieutenant Miller."

"Now that that's all done with I believe I should remind you that we are essentially fighting the Covenant again, just in another form. I don't believe I need to talk about Harvest." Osman said. I winced. Harvest had been recently terraformed again. Most of its surface was still unihabibtale and there had been only one city on the planet. Right now it was being used as an imperial staging area so they could attack the colonies.

It was essentially a game of cat and mouse. The UNSC knew where to attack bit didn't want to risk leaving the colonies undefended.

"No ma'am." I said.

"You're dismissed." Osman said.

I saluted before grabbing Sabrina's datachip and turned and left. I had a ship to catch and SPARTAN's to obtain. As I had in Beta company years before I said a quick prayer heading to my quarters to get my things. It would be along trip.

* * *

** Lieutenant William Gunther, Capital city of UNSC colony world Tempest, 15:00 hrs, July 8 2557/UNSC Military Calendar/Military Standard Time**

The Helljumpers were long dead. Their weapons were scattered about, their armour burnt and destroyed and their bodies torn and mangled.

It had been three hours since Castle had engaged the imperials, supported by the aforementioned Helljumpers.

William was currently staring at one via his helmets enhanced optics suite. The man held his combat knife loosely, his visor was cracked and there was a hole in the middle of it. An imperial Stormtrooper was rummaging around in the mans pockets. Will contemplated putting a round in the offending troopers head but decided against it on the grounds that it would reveal his carefully concealed position. While he wasn't a sniper by trade he was comfortable with it and had taken an SRS99-S5 as soon as he was able.

He scanned the grounds, searching for targets to take out when he found the perfect one. A man in a black tunic with nothing more than a pistol at his hip instantly identified him as an officer. Will waited for three seconds, using the time to calibrate his scope. He mused on a saying he had heard.

_"The only lord and saviour on this planet is me and my rifle. All it takes is the pull of the trigger and a man's dead. That's all it takes."_

The saying held true as when Will fired the rifle the man was literally torn apart by the 14.5x114mm round. His body turning into a fine pink mist. The imperial's had traced the shot, however and were closing in on him. He fired the remaining three rounds in quick succession before switching to his MA5D and downing three more stormtroopers with quick bursts. He then ran towards an overturned Warthog LAV, his shields flaring every time he was hit. He then quickly popped out of cover, killing a stormtrooper about to throw a grenade. The ensuing blast incinerated three nearby troopers and threw four more to the ground. All of a sudden the troopers were dead as gunfire from behind eliminated them. Will looked towards the sound of the shots and saw his squdmate down stormtrooper after stormtrooper with precise bursts from her BR85 Battle Rifle. The two SPARTAN's soon made there way to each other, killing imperial's as they went.

After what seemed like hours of fighting they're ammo was beginning to wear thin. this was only solidified by the shout of Castle four. "I cant take much more of this! I'm five 'till empty!"

"I've got four myself. plus my pistols." Will said referring to his two M6G pistols.

"Toss me one. I'm out for everything." She replied. Will handed one of his pistols to her, before focusing on the imperials. There was only a few troopers left now, however the next thing that came into view put a damper on any hope Will had in winning. An imperial 2-M hovertank came around a corner. its main weapons turning to fire on the two SPARTAN's. Nothing the SPARTANS had could break through its tough armour.

Will fired a burst from his rifle before turning to Castle four. "Castle four fallback. We cant do anything to that tank." William was about to fallback aswell when a trio of missiles obliterated the tank. A Pelican Dropship painted in the colors of the Office of Naval Intelligence appeared. Its back was facing the two SPARTAN's and when it opened a quartet of ONI marines came out. The squad leader approached the SPARTAN's.

"Sir I have orders to extract you for another op!" The man yelled over all the gunfire.

Will briefly looked towards Castle four before turning back to the sergeant. "Copy that. Castle four on the Pelican, double time!" She nodded and ran onto the ship. soon after Will did the same followed by the marines.

* * *

**Lieutenant Jessica Miller, aboard UNSC Prowler _Rainbow_, in orbit over Tempest, 16:48 hrs, July 8 2557/UNSC Military Calendar/Military Standard Time**

I was rather nervous. The two SPARTANS seemed ...different. These weren't SPARTAN IV's. SIV's alway had an air of overconfidence and cockiness. These SPARTANS displayed none of that. They had that look all SPARTAN III's and II's had. They knew their limits and because of them people had died. They knew loss and pain and they were filled with trapped emotions that desperately wanted to get out but would never be able to. The SPARTAN wouldn't let them. **  
**

I waited at a conference room relatively close to the hanger, alongside the Captain.

I had briefly looked up a small file of Castle team. I wanted to know who I was dealing with. These were the only two survivors of the team. The rest had been killed in action during an operation against the Covenant. A waste.

When the SPARTANS came in I was surprised. I knew those faces. I knew them. From where I don't know but _I knew them._

"Sir. Castle team reporting as ordered, sir." The leader said. He had navy blue and ice blue MJOLNIR GEN1 armour with a Air Assault helmet with a black visor. He had several ammo pouches attached to his armour and a Biofoam dispenser on his left leg.

"Good to see you in one piece, SPARTAN. The lieutenant here is in charge of you now so you report to her. I need to see we weren't followed. I'll take my leave." The captain said.

As soon as he left I started talking. "At ease, SPARTAN's. I'm lieutenant Miller. I'll be your CO for the duration of this operation."

"What is the op, ma'am?" The other SPARTAN asked.

"We are currently heading towards a UNSC task force. The task force has made contact with members of the imperial government and we are to negotiate an informal alliance with them In the hopes they can give us supplies and a base to attack more imperial targets." I said. "There is already a SPARTAN team on the ground but without someone versed in negotiations it has been hard going. The team, along with some army rangers has been attacking small imperial convoys and bases on the planet."

"So we're going to reinforce this team while you negotiate with the natives, right ma'am?" The leader asked.

"Correct. You will be given more information when we reach the task force. Quarters have already been given to you as you won't need cryo. Just ask the A.I were to go. Dismissed." I said. Wordlessly the two SPARTANS filed out leaving me and my thoughts.

"Sabrina bring me the files on SPARTAN III Beta company. I don't care if I have clearance or not though I should have, seeing as I was apart of it." I said.

I wanted to know if a hunch I had was correct. I was never wrong. Ever.

* * *

**SPARTAN Emily-G045, aboard UNSC Frigate _What Once Was, _08:30 hrs, July 9 2557/UNSC Military Calendar/Military Standard Time  
**

"Come on. Is that the best you got!" The ranger yelled as Michael threw an uppercut. The ranger expertly dodged and countered Michael by grabbing his arm and flinging him across the ring. The ranger then threw himself on Michael and Michael tapped out after another few minutes.

We had been sent back to the fleet which was hiding on the far edge of the system to avoid detection. I had no idea why though.

Word was we were getting some ONI spook to help negotiate. Apparently there was another team of SPARTANS coming aswell.

"Fireteam Rapier please report to the main hanger." Pierre said over the intercom.

"Come on Michael." I said. Quickly heading to my quarters to put on my armour. Michael did the same.

When we reached our respective quarters I saw Sophie already inside, putting her armour on. She had everything on but her helmet. She donned her helmet then nodded to me before heading to the hanger.

It only took me around two minutes to put on my armour. I put my helmet on then I to went to the hanger.

Aside from the typical ground crew the rest of the team was already there along with the ships captain. Three other figures were also present, one of them was wearing the uniform of an ONI spook from section I. The other two, however...

_"Best assessment?" _ Kevin asked through a private comm channel.

_"I think they're II's, sir." _Sophie replied.

_"Fantastic. ready to get shown up, guys?" _Michael asked. I ignored him.

_"Alright, Rapier form up, come on." _Kevin ordered. I quickly formed up off of Kevin, the rest of the team following.

* * *

**Warrant Officer Chelsea Baker, aboard UNSC Frigate _What Once Was, _08:45 hrs, July 9 2557/UNSC Military Calendar/Military Standard Time**

_"What do you make of them?" _Chelsea asked Will.

_"I don't know yet. Why, what do you 'make of them' Chelsea." _He replied.

_"They seem, off. It took them ten minutes to get here and form up. They need to be faster." _

_"It's not our place to judge. yet."_

_"Still. these are III's. Mendez trained them. If they were this late for this..."_

_"I'll wait to pass judgment."_

_"I know you. You don't want to work with them, do you?"_

_"I said I'll wait." _Will replied, effectively ending the conversation. _"One things for sure though. Their not Castle."_

"Good. Now that everyone's here we can begin, or is there anyone else from your party that's not here, SPARTAN?" The ONI lieutenant asked the other team of SPARTANS. One of them stepped forwards.

"No ma'am, sorry for keeping you, ma'am." He said.

"Alright then. Team Castle meet Fireteam Rapier, Fireteam Rapier meet Team Castle. Use this time to get to know each other SPARTANS because you'll be covering each others' backs in a few hours." The Spook said. "Captain, I believe you wanted to show me something?" And with that they left.

"Fireteam Rapier Attention!" The other team's leader said. As one the five SPARTANs snapped to attention.

"At ease. I'm lieutenant Gunther, Castle one and this is Warrant Officer Grade 2 Chelsea Baker, Castle four."

"Sir, Petty Officer 1st Class Kevin-G097, Fireteam leader." The SPARTAN that had spoken before said.

"Petty Officer 2nd Class Julianne-G123, electronics specialist. Sir" The SPARTAN beside Kevin said.

"Petty Officer 3rd Class Michael-G244, demolition is my mission, sir." Another SPARTAN said. Chelsea could've swore she saw the SPARTAN known as Julianne shaking her head. B_ewilderment possibly. _Chelsea thought.

The next SPARTAN to speak was small, really small. "Petty Officer 3rd Class Sophie-G317. Medic at your service." She said.

The last SPARTAN to speak spoke so quietly Chelsea had trouble hearing her even with her augmented hearing. "Petty Officer 3rd Class Emily-G045, Sniper."

"Sir, forgive me for sounding ungrateful but why are you here? I thought they wanted all SPARTAN II's at the frontlines." Kevin asked._ II's, us? _Chelsea thought.

"we're not II's, Petty Officer." Will replied.

"Then what are you? your not IV's." Michael said.

"You'll just have to find out." Chelsea replied.

"How about a little challenge. If one of you gets beaten by one of us in something, you tell us what you are." Sophie said.

"And if we win. Then what?" William asked.

"What do you want?"

The two SPARTANS turned towards each other. "We ran dry on ammo during our last engagement. We want yours, all of it." Chelsea said.

"A...all of it. Seriously our ammo?" Sophie asked.

"Even your explosives."

Michael audibly groaned.

* * *

**Corporal Simon Andrews, aboard UNSC Frigate _What Once Was, _09:40 hrs, July 9 2557/UNSC Military Calendar/Military Standard Time  
**

"I hate you, you know that, right?" I heard my spotter say.

"I hate you too, Derose." I said. The two teams of SPARTANS had apparently had a falling out as they were fighting each other. It was a team deathmatch with a side of objective. To make the 'game' fair and to even the teams my sniper team had been assigned to assist 'Castle' team against 'Rapier' team.

It would be woefully unfair.

For them.

_"Castle Actual to Griffin Actual, you in position?"_ The SPARTAN in charge of Castle team asked.

_"We're Helljumpers, SPARTAN. Yes." _I replied almost sarcastically _  
_

The ship had a small cargo hanger near the back and seeing as we had nothing to do with it the captain had agreed to let us use the hanger as a training area for moc battles. Both teams were using TTR rounds so no one would get hurt. Though when you being shot by an SRS99-S5 it would hurt, TTR or no._  
_

"I have eyes on two of them. They're bunched up by that cargo container. Your twelve." Derose said. I sighted them then aimed my rifle and after a quick recalibration of my scope fired. The round impacted the first ones shoulder jerking them back and around a corner. No kill.

"You missed." Derose said.

"I know." I turned towards my spotter, Private First Class Jonathan Derose, giving him the finger. He moved his arm away from his MA5D assault rifle to punch me lightly on the shoulder. "Mckenzie! Report!" I yelled, referring to the final member of our team. Private Samantha Mckenzie. She had been assigned rearguard for this op. Her weapon of choice was a BR55 Heavy Barrel. An older gun for sure but it could kill.

"Nothing here Corp." she said.

"Double Check!" Derose yelled.

"Still nothing. Like always."

While they had been bickering I had found the SPARTAN from before. "You're mine." I pulled the trigger and to my satisfaction saw the body crumple.

"Kill confirmed!" Nice shot!" Derose said.

_"Griffin Actual We'll contain them. Head to the objective." _Castle actual said. As he said this a storm of gunfire was heard from our left flank.

"Do we have to do everything in this outfit?" Derose asked.

"Right, you heard him. Mckenzie your on point Derose your on our six. Move quickly and head for the NAV marker." I said, ignoring Derose as I hopped down from the container I had been perched on. Derose followed shortly after.

I turned towards Mckenzie, her black armour and visor concealing her almost perfectly in the low light. I say almost because her amour had a secondary colour of a deep orange. Though mine was a dark yellow almost gold and Derose had his in a dark red, almost maroon.

We all had black visors and of course the signature armour of the ODST's though with small differences. I had the binoculars common of an ODST sniper on my helmet aswell as a Global Positioning System on my wrist. Aside from that I had the regular kit. Derose had the complete regular kit with no deviations what so ever except for a sheathe for his Knife on his wrist. Mckenzie had an Up Armoured headpiece. She also had the GPS aswell as the team's Biofoam because she was our medic.

We moved single file through the maze of cargo containers, our rifles sweeping the area as we moved. We didn't have to worry about the SPARTANS active cameo, thank god. I'd rather not get shot in the ass by an enemy I couldn't see. They didn't have their shields either, a small blessing.

"Coming up on a door." McKenzie said.

"Breach, quietly and quickly. Go!" I whispered. McKenzie slowly opened the door and walked in, rifle raised. The objective, a chrome briefcase was there, on a crate. McKenzie made a grab for it. but I quickly grabbed her hand, smacking it away.

"It could be booby trapped." I said.

"No way. They wouldn't do that, right?" Derose asked.

"They could, they are no good backstabbing SPARTANS." I said sarcastically. McKenzie picked up the case and began to head out. She got three steps from the door when she was shot in the head. She fell back, her 'dead' body falling on me. it was a good thing to as her body protected me from the four follow up rounds.

I pushed her off me before hiding behind the door frame, my rifle cradled in my hands. "Griffin, sound off!" I yelled.

"McKenzie's down! I was nicked in the arm. Fuck that stings!" Derose said. I saw him hiding behind the table the case was on.

"Find the shooter! Pin him down. We leapfrog this." I said, wincing as four more rounds hammered away at my cover.

All of a sudden a small cylindrical object landed next to Derose. A grenade.

"Grenade!" Derose yelled, jumping on it to cover the blast. It would have worked to, if it weren't for the five rounds that slammed into the ground around him throwing him off. The blast shot outwards engulfing Derose and sending a wave of paint in my direction. I braced myself as the paint hit me. When it subsided I saw derose was miraculously unharmed. He ran over to me, propping me up. My rifle was covered in paint, useless and everything from my waist down I couldn't move. I pulled my M7 SMG from its holster and prepared for the worst.

_"Castle actual this is Griffin actual. I have a man down and two wounded, we are combat effective for stationary actions only, over."_

_"Copy that Griffin actual. hang tight. we have them on the run, over."_

"Prop me up, by the table. Go." I said to Derose quickly. He did as I asked then went behind the door to my left.

"Bring on the hell." I said, aiming my M7 at the door. A figure ran past. slowly but at the same time fast, "I'm a sniper for Christ's sake. I know its a feint." I yelled.

All I got in reply was a swarm of bullets. I couldn't move and thus was covered in paint. I was out. Derose fired into the doorway. I heard a small yelp from the other side. I saw my spotter inch out of his cover, moving towards the doorway. All of a sudden he was shot in the leg. He tripped which allowed one of the SPARTANS to calmly walk up and shoot him in the head.

The last SPARTAN walked over to me and squatted in my face.

"Good kills Helljumper. Good kills." It said. "Still you're not as good a-" The SPARTAN said only to be shot in the back by Castle actual. He came over to Mckenzie and picked up the fallen case. He then exited the room. A few minutes later I heard the cries of 'Game over' and found myself being unfrozen.

We won.

As my fellow ODST's managed to pick themselves up we crowded around eachother.

Mckenize was the first one to break the silence. "We got our asses kicked, eh guys?"

"No way, I killed two of them." I said as I punched her in the shoulder before walking towards my quarters to clean my armour. "And Mckenzie, just for that comment alone your our pointman for the next five ops." I added.

Her cries could be heard throughout the ship.

* * *

**Warrant Officer Chelsea Baker, aboard UNSC Frigate _What Once Was, _10:45 hrs, July 9 2557/UNSC Military Calendar/Military Standard Time**

"The marines did better than I expected." Chelsea said. "Two kills and they almost had the objective."

"They did better than anticipated." Will replied.

"Sir, you wanted to see us?" A new voice asked. Chelsea turned to find Kevin and his team.

"Correct petty officer. congratulations." Will replied.

"Sir? We lost." Kevin said, confused.

"Yes but you managed to take out all the Helljumpers and wound Castle four. That's cause for celebration."

"Thank you, sir." Kevin said.

"However it seems Lieutenant Ambrose didn't train you well enough. I always knew we were better." Will said, chuckling.

"Sir wha...your Beta's then. I should have known!" Kevin said.

"Correct again Petty Officer. You have a sharp eye." Chelsea said.

"Thank you, ma'am."

"We don't need your ammo after all. Your free to go." Will said. As one the team of five SPARTANS turned and left.

"Maybe we could work with them after all." Will said.

* * *

**That's all folks!**

** I hope you enjoyed and I hope you are as exited about theotherpianist's partnership. Once again thank you theotherpianist for beta'ing and allowing me to use your characters. Your awesome!**

**If you the reader have any OC's you would like to add please send me a PM or review. If not then the least you could do is just review anyway. Please, my heart aches for reviews!**

**Until next time have a wonderful time in whatever you are doing.**


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